Fetty Wap has been the most successful artist coming out of Jersey in the past 4 years. He made history with his songs “Again”, “My Way”, “Trap Queen” and “679” featuring Remy Boy Monty being the first 4 consecutive songs to chart in the Billboard Top 10 simultaneously. Fetty Wap had his break out year when the visuals for his song Trap Queen went viral in 2015. After that he never looked back. He dropped multiple other singles that were just as successful , got a remix from Drake and collaborated with other notable artists , released his Debut Album at #1 and received a Grammy Nomination. Fetty put jersey on the map in a way no other artist has been able to before and has represented RGF Productions through his whole journey to the top of the music industry. Danny Su Griffin said he saw himself in Fetty Wap and believed in his vision because it will always be a win and that has proven true throughout his whole career.

Sitting with RGF and Aggressive Marketing Group CEO Danny Su Griffin the other day, I was able to get details of how the biggest record label in New Jersey got its start. Danny Su is a Peterson native who got his music start at a very young age and is one of the Executives behind the success of Fetty Wap and many other artists in the music industry . We also discussed Su’s role with RGF, how he knew he had something special in Fetty Wap, and much more as you read on.

Su made it known from the jump that RGF is into making history and that they were going to continue on making history. Sharing his feelings on the success of Fetty Wap’s newest video for “Aye”, Su explained that he was proud of the way it came out and that it is a new direction for Fetty being that the song itself is a different style than his other music; the video, also being different from many of the videos he has done in the past.

Growing up in Paterson, New Jersey, Danny Su started making music at age 14. Starting his music with what he called, “knock off turn tables” and the one song he recalled as his first, “Sucka MC’s” by Run DMC. Asking about the difficulties of starting a record label and what actually got him wanting to take on the feat of having his own label instead of working for a major label, Su revealed, “I had a bad experience at MCA that made me want to start something of my own.” He continued, “It wasn’t really hard to start up the label because everyone involved believed in the vision and once we got everything running it was only up from there.” Danny Su also revealed that when speaking with Fetty he saw himself, he knew that Fetty had the whole package and would deliver on anything he put his hands on.

Similar to how Diddy invested in his own liquor brand “Ciroc” and did things like opened a charter school, it was interesting to learn that Danny Su came up doing many of the same things, not just music. He had a label called ‘Smoke Records’, which he ran with his partner Jamal Lewis; and owned a clothing company based in Staten Island. Pushing his artist to do the same thing as the industry isn’t always so lucrative, and often doesn’t generate the long-lasting financial success we imagine it to, Su encourages his artists to venture into different fields in order to provide for a particular lifestyle. Many artists as well as CEO’s like to take part in many things outside of just making music, RGF artist and fellow Paterson native M80 has an edible cannabis brand called ‘M80’s’, available in California to all Medical Marijuana Card holders. Fetty Wap and label mate Remy Boy Monty have a clothing line called ‘By Order Of’ and ‘Remy Boyz Clothing’.

“It’s very important to have other things going other than just music alone. It’s always good to be able to come up in many different ways.”

RGF in the past two years has been the hardest working label coming out of New Jersey, if you ask me. The proof you seek: Tapia just signed a deal with 300 through RGF Productions, Guwii Kids locked in a feature with Fetty Wap and Oskama for their hit song “In the Kitchen”, and RGF also has an R&B singer Biousha who has a very bright future in the music business.

Tapia makes music that some would label punk rap and was already creating his own lane being that he doesn’t make music like other artists from New Jersey. Before the contract, Tap was said to already be a hard worker but after the deal, rumor has it he locked himself in his home to be able to create more music further propelling the speed and manner in which he approached his work.

“In The Kitchen” by rap duo Guwii Kids was one of the most popular drops from RGF last summer. The group being made up of Mitch and “23”, their song “In the Kitchen” was released in April of 2015 and in October of last year Fetty Wap and Oskama Esteban hopped on the remix to the already buzzing track, bringing it to higher heights. This year they will star in the first movie effort from RGF Productions “The Drop”.

Biousha, the R&B singer from Tampa Florida should not be compared to other R&B ladies out there, the Rihanna’s or Tinashe’s of the world as Su clarified, “First of all, she is in a league of her own. Her ambition and talent are different than other artists.” They knew about a Fetty Wap cover for the song “My Way” and were able to sign her after one of her shows in Florida. A small empire on its way to being a leading one. Starting small, and working their way up, Danny Su & Nitt the Gritt make the executive decisions in RGF. And with the label being like a close knit family, the artist’s have the freedom to arrange features amongst themselves, moving forward and building off of each other, the only payoff is triumph.

Being the CEO for the label that Fetty Wap is signed to, Su pointed toward some of the unreleased tracks when it comes to his top 5 songs and revealed that he has faith in Fetty, and believes in the vision, “It’s not about one song being better than the other, it’s about having faith in the vision and direction the person is taking the art.”

“RGF is into making history and as long as we are still here, we will continue to make history”.

He reiterates.

RGF has come up very rapidly in the music industry, when asked if he thinks any label can emulate what they have done he says, “It’s possible, anything is possible but we are already started so it would be a game of catch up at that point.” Much like that of Atlanta’s music scene that has held its own on being a music mecca for quite some time now, RGF is carefully laying the groundwork to start a music mecca of its own in New Jersey, starting with Paterson. In order to bring that same atmosphere of dope talent, Su said in regard to making that ambition a reality, “I will make sure of it”.

Aggressive Marketing Group are overtly particular in the way they do things – aggressively. When it comes to any task, Su only does things aggressively. So go hard or sit down is the motto. Vision with no action is pointless, as to talk about it and not being about it is the biggest contradiction. Having connections as an artist and/or executive are very important in this game,

“You must always build bridges and never burn bridges. You never know who can help you out along the way of your journey. So never burn a bridge,” Su says.

Playing a part along with Nitt the Gritt in the Fetty Wap deal with 300, the Monty Warner Chapel publishing deal, the Remy Boyz clothing line deal with Foot Action, and the BMG deal with NickeBeats, the producer of the smash hit “My Way”; Danny Su Griffin is continuously working towards that vision. No doubt RGF is actively pushing its way to becoming the biggest record label out of New Jersey; it will be exciting to see what they have in store for the future.

And while RGF is still working, Monty Zoo 2 is now available on all streaming platforms and King Zoo is on the way, stay tuned.